Anxiety is the result of a disparity between or disruption to the normal rhythmic balance between respiration and heartbeat, whether triggered psychologically or mechanically. The imbalance causes alterations in blood gasses which cause instability to cerebral blood vessel tone via vasoconstriction or dilation. It may be possible to relieve anxiety not by breathing slowly and deeply as is often thought, but by altering respiration to match heart rate.

“Scientists say new brain imaging methods that measure blood flow could help diagnose bipolar disorder in its early stages, as well as differentiate it from depression, according to a study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.”

I had tried some breathing exercises with the aim of increasing my level of carbon dioxide to see if it caused sedation or relaxation as I had read. I noticed that each time within a minute of starting the exercise I had the uncontrollable urge to yawn.

I was performing these exercises as I lay in bed. Interestingly, the urge to yawn only came when my eyes were open.

This led me to wonder whether yawning is a mechanism by which the body avoids respiratory depression and associated increase in carbon dioxide levels (state during sleep) when it is contradicted, ie our open eyes signalling that it is not time to sleep. The yawn draws air deep into our lungs to rebalance the oxygen/CO2 for wakefulness.

I read this today in an article about flavanols in cocoa reversing cognitive impairment in the elderly by increasing blood flow to the brain:

“We’re learning more about blood flow in the brain and its effect on thinking skills,” said study author Dr Farzaneh Sorond a neurologist at Harvard Medical School.

“As different areas of the brain need more energy to complete their tasks, they also need greater blood flow. This relationship, called neurovascular coupling, may play an important role in diseases such as Alzheimer’s.”

It seems ridiculous that nobody seems to see any link between depression and neurovascular coupling. Perhaps they just never bother to question the received wisdom, like in the story below from yesterday:

“The results of this small, preliminary study were remarkable. Substantial improvement was observed within 4 hours and continued for 4 weeks following a single administration of nitroprusside. Both positive and negative symptoms of the disorder showed substantial improvement.

These results are rather dramatic and, as such, there is need for caution. They will need to be replicated in larger studies and by different groups of researchers. In addition, risks versus benefits must be evaluated. In this particular study, there were no differences in side effects between the group receiving the sodium nitroprusside and those receiving placebo.”

I haven’t really looked into or researched this yet, so these are just early thoughts…

I had noticed that when I eat a bag of candy, I tend to fall asleep soon afterwards. In fact, after a big bag (I have a very sweet tooth), it can be like being knocked out by a sledgehammer, and I struggle to wake up or come round properly for an hour or so. I mentioned this to the GP, and he said that after we eat something sugary our body releases insulin, and it’s probably the insulin which is causing the sleepiness/sedation.

It made me wonder about a possible mechanism of action for anti psychotics. Most of them, it seems, have the potential to elevate blood sugar levels, and even to trigger diabetes. Is it possible that the sedation caused by anti psychotics is as a result of them raising blood sugar and the subsequent release of insulin? People are often advised to drink very sweet tea when in a state of shock; is this the same calming mechanism in action? Would it work for anxiety? Do those who drink alcohol to relieve their schizophrenia symptoms experience any relief merely due to the alcohol raising blood sugar levels triggering insulin release?